MeerKat thoughts...

corwise

corwise

Joined
Nov 10, 2006
Messages
1,408
I bought a MeerKat last month due to length restrictions in Okinawa, thought I'd share my intial thoughts. I've EDC'd it whenever I've gone off base, it fits nicely in the pocket. I personnally prefer a longer knife, but the blade is extremely useable and has no trouble accomplishing normal EDC tasks. The closing mechanism is unique, but easy to figure out and easy to close one handed without getting your fingers in the way. As far as I can tell the lock is plenty strong, although I haven't stressed it in any way. The wire clip allows it to be carried with minimal visibility, which I like since this island is very knife-unfriendly.
I only found two negatives with the knife. First, from a useability standpoint, some jimping on the thumbrest would give a lot better control. Maybe they left it smooth so it wouldn't catch in the pocket, but with a short knife like this control is always nice. The other is purely cosmetic. Both sides of the handle of a Spyderco symbol molded into them. Above one it says Meer-Kat, which is fine. The other though says Pat Pend, which I assume means patient pending. I'll admit to not knowing all the legal requirements, and I know the lock is new and all, but still, I think it looks cheap and shouldn't be there.
Those are minor problems, I'm enjoying having it, very useful to have since I can't carry my larger knives off base.
 
Off topic: Mr. Miyagi is from Okinawa
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He is, and I've been trying to find him but no luck. I'd settle for that neat drum thing that taught young Daniel-san to dodge and then hit back like a ninja.
 
The lock isn't new...the original Meerkat came out years ago. Unless someone from Spyderco chimes in and says for sure, that patent could be pending on any number of features of the Meerkat.

Oh, I have an original and one of the new sprint run Meerkats. I like them both and they are great little knives. If I was to carry one, it would probably be the sprint, due to the flat grind and VG-10 steel. The low ride pocket clip is pretty sweet, I agree.
 
That Patent Pending is there becuse it was there on the original molds for the FRN handles. I'm pretty sure the patent has either been granted or denied by now, but it is not economically feasible to make new FRN molds for a Sprint run, so the original molds were used. As a side note, the molds used for the Golden made MeerKats say the same thing, but on the other side.
 
More Meerkat love here. Carrying mine is a pleasure. It's compact and the phantom lock is fun to fiddle with.

It may be the best knife for opening mail that I have.

It's also a knife that's not going to scare folks that aren't comfortable around blades.
 
I don't have the old version, but the new version has a full-flat grind on the blade, and the steel is VG-10 (which I hear is an upgrade to the steel on the older version).

Scales are a different color.

I think that is all in terms of difference.
 
I love mine also. I agree, it will accomplish 99% of edc tasks. It feels great in my hand, looks good and is a joy to use. I love the wire clip and prefer that type of clip on all my folders now. I also think the lock is so intuitive that when I switch back to my caly3 or sage, I find myself trying to close them like the Meerkat the first few times.
 
That Patent Pending is there becuse it was there on the original molds for the FRN handles. I'm pretty sure the patent has either been granted or denied by now, but it is not economically feasible to make new FRN molds for a Sprint run, so the original molds were used. As a side note, the molds used for the Golden made MeerKats say the same thing, but on the other side.
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Makes sense. Still don't like it. :) But I can understand the economic need.
 
high desert said:
Did not like mine. Too fat for a little knife
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But don't you think that the fatter handle actually gives you a better grip? On a small knife where grip is lacking, I don't think it's bad.

Overall, I'm glad I got it. It's a much more substantial knife than I had thought at first.
 
Excellent knife IMO, very useful. Compact and sharp and fun to use. I've just been so happy with my UK Pen Knife lately that the MeerKat has gotten too little attention..need to make up for it at some point. Much too nice a knife to ignore. :)
 
dsmegst said:
But don't you think that the fatter handle actually gives you a better grip? On a small knife where grip is lacking, I don't think it's bad.

Overall, I'm glad I got it. It's a much more substantial knife than I had thought at first.
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My sentiments exactly. The Dragonfly has a similar shaped handle but being so much thinner just isn't as good to work with.
 
hoopster said:
My sentiments exactly. The Dragonfly has a similar shaped handle but being so much thinner just isn't as good to work with.
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I agree that the thicker handle of the Meerkat gives a better grip. My biggest complaint about small knives has always been that they have small handles.:)

Tom
 
Another Meerkat lover here. Excellent little knife, a real contender for my favourite LBK, which is currently my Cricket.
 
The Meerkat has always been a favorite of mine. I loved the wireclip, the crazy Phantom lock and especially the variant Reverse-S blade. At the time the wire-clip and Reverse S blades were a new thing and I am glad they caught on, we are seeing more and more wire clips and hawkbill shaped blades

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